Hillary Clinton Going to Work While She’s Sick Is a Universal Thing—Here’s Why

We’ve all been there: You wake up for work feeling like crap, and the thought of commuting makes you want to curl up into a ball, but you push yourself out of bed and suffer at your desk all day. I certainly have. There’s even a scientific term for going to work when you’re sick: A recent meta-analysis found that “presenteeism” occurs most often in employees who cannot endure financial loss due to sickness or whose work environment is stressful and full of pressure.

Sound familiar? It would to Hillary Clinton, who is battling pneumonia while she is (NBD) campaigning to become the next president of the United States. Clinton’s doctor attributed her abrupt exit from the ceremony this weekend commemorating the 15th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks to her bout with pneumonia and dehydration. And because she is a public figure and her sickness is on full display, her health has been the subject of endless speculation:

Former GOP candidate Ben Carson (who prides himself on being a doctor) even weighed in:

“The biggest problem with Hillary Clinton’s health is the disease of dishonesty,” said Carson. “People in America tend to be understanding of natural diseases and are sympathetic, but adding more fuel to the fire of suspicion about her honesty by hiding a diagnosis of pneumonia and possibly other things may be a mistake from which there is no recovery.”

The meta-analysis also suggested that people who work while they're sick don’t want to be away from their jobs because they love what they do.

We can argue that yes, Clinton is exhibiting traits of presenteeism: Her job is one of the most stressful ones on the planet and she doesn’t want to let sickness get in the way of it. I’m sure she also loves her work and doesn’t want to spend one day away from it. We all get sick—and while we should go home and rest (which Clinton did) so we can ultimately perform our best at work, most of us power through our ailments and go to work. Clinton shouldn’t be judged for that.